July 07, 2023

WIFF’S WEEKEND WATCH LIST — 7/7

Check out our recommendations of what to watch this weekend.

if you like your joaquin phoenix weird (is there any other kind?)

beau is afraid

Vincent Georgie: For those that enjoyed our horror double feature recommendations from last weekend, check out the equally disturbing, unusual and entirely original new film from Ari Aster. Come for Joaquin Phoenix, stay for the animation and Patti Lupone (never thought I would say that). A psychologically complex film.

Synopsis: A paranoid man embarks on an epic odyssey to get home to his mother in this bold and ingeniously depraved new film from writer/director Ari Aster.

Available on iTunes, YouTube and Amazon Prime.

if you want to go to camp with wes anderson

moonrise kingdom

Vincent Georgie: Roll up your sleeping back and head over to the most twee, accessorized and symmetric Summer of camping you have ever experienced. The cast is particularly endearing, especially Bruce Willis of all people. The film was Oscar-nominated for its screenplay.

Synopsis: The year is 1965, and the residents of New Penzance, an island off the coast of New England, inhabit a community that seems untouched by some of the bad things going on in the rest of the world. Twelve-year-olds Sam and Suzy have fallen in love and decide to run away. But a violent storm is approaching the island, forcing a group of quirky adults to mobilize a search party and find the youths before calamity strikes.

Available on iTunes, Amazon Prime, YouTube and Crave.

if you think society is at a boiling point

do the right thing

Vincent Georgie: The suffocating, sweltering heat of a Brooklyn Summer in the late 80s acts as a furnace of racial tension and social unease in a multicultural neighbourhood. Both star Danny Aiello and screenwriter Spike Lee received Oscar nominations for the film, but this contemporary masterpiece is still considered to never have been given the accolades it was due. Big picture, this film won. It is still a revered and discussed film.

Synopsis: Salvatore “Sal” Fragione is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighbourhood local, Buggin’ Out, becomes upset when he sees that the pizzeria’s Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors. Buggin’ Out believes a pizzeria in a black neighbourhood should showcase black actors, but Sal disagrees. The wall becomes a symbol of racism and hate to Buggin’ Out and to other people in the neighbourhood, and tensions rise.

Available on iTunes, YouTube, Crave and Amazon Prime.

DOUBLE FEATURE

friends forever

Two of the most endearing stories of friendships among girls make for a winning double feature. We all know someone in our lives who is going to love this double feature.

now and then

Three strong women — Roberta Martin, Samantha Albertson and Tina “Teeny” Tercell — return home to reunite with their childhood friend Chrissy DeWitt Williams and see her through the end of her first pregnancy. The four lifelong friends share their memories of the unforgettable summer of 1970, the summer their innocent younger selves grew up.

Available on Crave and Amazon Prime.

the sisterhood of the travelling pants

Bridget, Carmen, Lena and Tibby are best friends living in Maryland. After many summers together, the four are finally going their separate ways for a few months: while Bridget heads to Mexico, and Lena visits family in Greece, Carmen and Tibby stay closer to home. No matter where they are, they are connected by a pair of jeans that they take turns sharing — pants that fit all four girls and exemplify their tight bond.